"Can you believe it! I, Professor Calfior, am flying in New York! I was born in this place way back in ‘53 - 1853!! Of course, most of my friends back then were indians, who were just in negotiation talks about the building of the Empire State Building as a financial real estate investment! Well, enough chatter! Professor Miller is giving me the signal to get on with this before it becomes more than 17 pages, so dial in 119.15 for Bridgeport's Automatic Terminal Information Service - ATISfor short, so we can get some local airport information. "

"This gives you about a 70 degree crosswind takeoff in order to get out of here, but at 15 knots, it's not impossible. Maybe by the time we get to the runup of runway 6, the wind will tame down somewhat. But again, if it doesn't - no biggee!! I took off on grass once, so if we slide off the runway, just keep the power on - we'll eventually get airborne! Let's set up the instruments."

2) Set "Altimeter" and "DG"

3) Tune NAV 1 to "108.8" (BDR)

4) Set NAV 1 OBS to "212" in the upper window

5) Tune NAV 2 to "115.9" (JFK)

6) Set NAV 2 OBS to "246" in the lower window

7) Set the DME to "NAV 1" and "DIST"

8) Check CARB HEAT is "OFF"

9) Check GEAR "DOWN"

10) Turn STROBE "ON"

11) Check LIGHTS "OFF"

"Just for your learning edification, we are filing this flight on an IFR flight plan. We could just as easily be on a VFR flight plan with all this beautiful weather, but you need the experience, in order to not be intimidated by its reputational shadow of doom!!! So when we talk to Ground Control on 121.9 for taxi, also place your IFR clearance on request. That'll give them time to get it, and us time to taxi and get our pretake-off needs met."

12) Tune COM to "121.9" (Bridgeport Ground)

You:

"BRIDGEPORT GROUND, CESSNA 13MIKE IS AT THE RAMP, READY TO TAXI TO RUNWAY 6. I'D LIKE TO PLACE MY IFR FLIGHT PLAN ON REQUEST, PLEASE."

Bridgeport Ground:

"CESSNA 13MIKE, YOU ARE CLEARED TO TAXI TO RUNWAY 6. PROCEED STRAIGHT AHEAD TO THE RUNUP AREA. FLIGHT PLAN ON REQUEST."

You:

"13MIKE."

TAXI -

Runway 6 is to your left. As Ground said, simply proceed along the taxiway to the runup area. Hold short of runway 6 and perform your runup. Just so that you can see the reasoning behind this, it's practical to have filed on an IFR f fight plan. Being unfamiliar with the New York area, we will be able to enter all the Terminal Control Areas near Kennedy and La Guardia with IFR control by our ears!! Okay, what do we have to do?" See Figure 11.1

Figure 11.1. Taxi to runway 6.

RUN UP -

1) Set brake (hold down to prevent aircraft from moving)

2) Advance power to about "1800" RPM

** 3) Select CARB HEAT "ON", record RPM drop______(5 pts)

4) Select CARB HEAT "OFF"

** 5) Select "LEFT" Mag, record RPM drop__________(5 pts)

6) Select "BOTH" Mags

** 7) Select "RIGHT" Mag, record RPM drop_________(5 pts)

8) Select "BOTH" Mags

9) Reduce power to idle

10) Set FLAPS to first notch (10 degrees takeoff configuration)

Bridgeport Ground:

"CESSNA 13MIKE, ADVISE WHEN READY TO COPY YOUR IFR CLEARANCE."

"Talk about timing! That's about as perfect as Ground could get. I'll back you up on the copying of your clearance, but if you have any questions or miss something, just ask Ground to repeat whatever portion you need. But as we've briefed in the restaurant, it's a pretty standardized briefing format. You better respond before they think we've died!"

You:

"BRIDGEPORT GROUND, 13MIKE IS READY TO COPY."

Bridgeport Ground:

"CESSNA 13MIKE IS CLEARED TO THE LA GUARDIA AIRPORT AS FILED. UPON TAKEOFF, MAINTAIN RUNWAY HEADING TO 700 FEET, THEN TURN RIGHT TO INTERCEPT THE VICTOR 229 AIRWAY TO KENNEDY VOR. CLIMB UP TO AND MAINTAIN SIX THOUSAND FEET. DEPARTURE CONTROL FREQUENCY WILL BE 126.95. SQUAWK 2323."

You:

"CESSNA 13MIKE IS CLEARED TO LA GUARDIA AS FILED. ON TAKEOFF, MAINTAIN RUNWAY HEADING TO 700 FEET, THEN RIGHT TURN FOR VICTOR 229 TO KENNEDY. CLIMB TO AND MAINTAIN SIX THOUSAND FEET. DEPARTURE ON 126.95, SQUAWK 2323."

Bridgeport Ground:

"READ BACK IS CORRECT, 13MIKE. ENJOY YOUR FLIGHT."

"WOW!! Did you hear yourself?? Well, of course you did! But that was better than I've heard most experienced IFR gents, or ladies handle an IFR read back! I have this feeling you are going to surprise me all throughout this flight. Quite a load of confidence - and believe me, that's what's needed, so don't ever lose that! If you're set, let's go to Tower on 120.9 and start our journey. "

11) Set XPDR to "2323" (assigned code)

12) Tune COM to "120.9" (Bridgeport Tower)

You:

"BRIDGEPORT TOWER, CESSNA 13MIKE IS NUMBER ONE FOR RUNWAY 6, READY TO TAKEOFF, RIGHT DOWNWIND DEPARTURE."